Fed's Hoenig - Inflation a longer-term risk

KANSAS CITY Jan 7 (Reuters) - Inflation is not a near-term risk for the United States but a longer-term one, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Hoenig said on Thursday.

"Inflation is a longer-term risk for certain," Hoenig said in response to audience questions after giving a speech at the Central Exchange in Kansas City.

Hoenig also said that commercial real estate pressures are still crimping bank lending but that through the course of 2010 he would expect banks to lend more as the economy improves.

Asked about regulatory reform proposals that would strip the Federal Reserve of its consumer protection role, Hoenig said he was not supportive of the idea. "That would be a mistake," he said.

(Reporting by Kristina Cooke, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)